New Delhi:
The selection of India's first Lokpal, or anti-corruption ombudsman, could be left to the next government, with a series of controversies forcing the Congress-led Centre to go slow on the process, sources have said.
Sources say a meeting of the Lokpal Selection Committee headed by the Prime Minister, which was to take key decisions, was cancelled last week and may not take place before next month's general election, though on record, the government says the selection process is on.
The process to appoint members to the anti-corruption body took a major blow when two members quit the search panel - Justice KT Thomas and noted jurist Fali Nariman.
In the two-tier Lokpal selection process, the search committee has to shortlist candidates for the anti-corruption body, which are finally cleared by the Selection Committee.
Justice Thomas, who was to head the search panel, said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that the committee "cannot make any independent search to find out the most deserving persons" but has to choose from candidates submitted by the central government. He questioned the need for a search panel whose recommendations could be vetoed by the selection committee.
To replace these members, the selection committee was to meet, but sources say it is unlikely as everyone is busy with next month's general election. The Selection Committee comprises the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, the Lok Sabha Speaker, a representative of the Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist.
The Selection Committee also took off on a note of discord with BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, the Leader of Opposition in the current Lok Sabha, strongly opposing the Prime Minister's choice of a jurist for the panel.
Sources say an "adversarial opposition" is a big factor behind the Centre's "cold feet" on the appointment of a Lokpal, though the ruling Congress credits Rahul Gandhi with pushing for the anti-corruption law passed in December.